Darkness Embraces Me
by RMprincess
Summary: Murtagh gets back after the battle and finds out that his ex-girlfriend Irina accepted king's immoral offer. Irina's credulity, imprudence and craziness will lead them closer to the dark side. M rated.
1. Irina

**Disclaimer:**I don't own the characters; they all belong to Christopher Paolini except Irina and other characters you don't recognize as Paolini's.

**Author's note: **This story is rated M mostly because of language and some future scenes. It starts right after the end of the second book. Maybe a little bit AU. This story is not for Eragon fans since I have some evil plans for him and it won't be much of him here, at least I think…haven't decided yet. I don't encourage actions and behavior of characters in the story, just to make it clear. More info is in my profile.

* * *

It was late at night. Dark shadows were covering Galbatorix's castle. The sky was almost black; heavy clouds didn't even move. Everything was quiet until the lightning spread across the sky, making visible two shadows in the air. Red dragon soon landed near the castle. In that moment a loud roar startled the young dragon and two furious, glowing eyes appeared in the dark.

"_You failed!_" roared the black dragon again "_You failed!_"

Murtagh didn't pay any attention to Shruikan. His expression was cold and surprisingly calm. He stood some moments in front of the castle, thinking what to do.

"_Will you…?_" tried to ask Thorn, worried.

"_Don't._" said Murtagh.

"_He's furious._" said Thorn, thinking on Galbatorix who was probably waiting for them to tear them apart.

"_Just don't._" said Murtagh coldly "_Don't say anything._"

"_Fine. But remember…it is all your fault!_" said Thorn angrily "_If you hadn't let him go…_"

"_Shut up!_" yelled Murtagh and looked at Thorn before he entered the castle "_Leave me alone!_"

"_It will be my pleasure._" Thorn let the smoke out of his nose and followed Shruikan.

* * *

Murtagh was walking down the hall, all the way to the throne room. He didn't even wait a second; he just entered the throne room. He knew Galbatorix will be pissed, but still it didn't bother him. The only thing important to him was that he found a loophole in king's orders which meant another proof that he wasn't just his slave. Part of him was very proud of that. But he was surprised when he saw the king sitting in his chair, completely calm. Galbatorix looked up at him.

"Oh, you're here." Galbatorix seemed to be bored "We've been waiting for you."

"We?" Murtagh repeated suspiciously. Something was wrong.

"Yes." Galbatorix rolled his eyes "I assumed you will fail and get back here. I realized my mistake little bit late, but still…I have a better plan. That's why I called someone."

"Huh." it was all that Murtagh said.

"Come, my dear." said Galbatorix with a smile on his face. For the first time Murtagh noticed someone standing in the dark corner of the room. She stepped out of the dark and Murtagh gasped in surprise. He knew her long dark brown hair and hazel eyes all too well. Just now she was wearing long black dress and not white like he remembered.

"Hey." she smiled at him.

"Irina." said Murtagh, still surprised "What are you doing here?"

"I saw her in your mind." said Galbatorix "I thought she would be perfect for my plan. And she accepted."

"What plan?" Murtagh was suspicious again. Irina wasn't good for any kind of plan; she would most likely ruin it all.

"Don't you see?" Galbatorix was upset a bit "You don't respect your king and you keep disobeying me!"

"Well that's a big problem!" Murtagh laughed sarcastically.

"I have one egg left. I'll raise a Rider. Then I'll have a powerful weapon against anyone who confronts me. A Rider who won't even think of failing me!" said Galbatorix "So, I asked Irina to give birth to your child. And no, you won't get out of this one."

"That's crazy!" Murtagh was shocked "That's impossible! It takes a lot of time to raise a Rider and until then you'll be dead."

"Oh, please. A child would do better than you!" said Galbatorix "So no, it won't take so much time. It's a perfect plan, trust me. Now, you two get out of here. Murtagh, help her around and then I want to _talk _to you. Irina, I hope you'll like it."

"Oh, thank you my king. I'm sure I will." smiled Irina and Murtagh rolled his eyes, grabbing her arm and pulling her out of the throne room.

* * *

"Let go of me! You're hurting me!" said Irina when they got out, but Murtagh pressed her against the wall.

"What the fuck did you do?" asked Murtagh angrily "Are you crazy? Why did you accept this?"

"Why not?" Irina asked "You don't know how much money he promised me for this! A fortune!"

"Fuck it, Irina!" yelled Murtagh "You have enough money! At least you had last time when I saw you. But still, you are ready to sell your own child??"

"Hey, I need that money for something. It's not your business." she smiled "And I'm not selling a child…it's just a job."

"You make me sick!" said Murtagh disgusted and moved away from her.

"That's not what you said last time." there was a playful smile on Irina's face.

"I can't believe I was in love with you." said Murtagh.

"Oh, please! Like I care." she said.

"You do." he smiled "I can read it in your mind. I'm a Rider now, don't forget."

"Heeeey!" she was nervous "Don't do that! It's not fair!"

"Don't piss me off because I could kill you with just one look." he smiled.

"Huh. Magic sucks." she made a sad face and looked at him with puppy eyes "You won't kill me, will you?"

"We'll see." said Murtagh, knowing that probably Galbatorix will make him promise in ancient language that he won't try to kill her.

"Would you be so kind to show me the way to my room?" asked Irina "The king told me it's the biggest one in the castle and has perfect view."

"Ah, follow me." said Murtagh and they started walking down the hall.

"So…why don't you just follow king's orders? Your life would be much better, right?" she asked.

"You don't know anything about me and the king!" he said furiously.

"Fine. Sorry. I won't ask anything!" she said and he could see the fear on her face. She was afraid he will really kill her.

"Here. This is your room." he opened the door, using magic to light the torches as they entered the big dark room. Irina looked around in surprise. The room was almost empty; there was just one big bed with black covers, one closet in the corner and a desk and chair in another.

"Ok, this needs rearrangement!" she sounded disappointed.

"No one was here since…I don't know actually!" Murtagh laughed and pointed at her shoulder "Look, there's even a spider on your shoulder…"

"Ahh!! Fuck!! Get it off me!!" she screamed in panic.

"Whoa, calm down! I got it!" he said, moved the spider and it dropped dead on the floor.

"That was awesome!" her eyes shined "I changed my mind about magic."

"Because I killed a spider?" Murtagh raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Irina smiled.

"Whatever you say." he said "I would show you the terrace but it's not a good time for that. The only thing you could see now would be an angry old dragon."

"What?" Irina's eyes widened "There's a dragon outside?"

"Yeah. Shruikan is little bit angry so he flies around…" said Murtagh "But don't worry. He won't come in here."

"Umm, could you stay with me for a moment?" she suddenly asked when he headed for the door.

"I don't think so." he smirked "The king doesn't like to wait."

"Just…a moment." she got closer to him, trying to touch his face but he moved away.

"Damn it, Irina! If you think this is going to be that easy, you're wrong!" he said.

"You changed so much since the last time I saw you." she whispered, not taking notice of what he said.

"You changed too. I didn't know you can be such a…" he stopped in the middle of the sentence "You made a wrong decision."

"I made a wrong decision?" she looked at him surprised "You say that just because you don't like it."

"Don't be stupid." he said "The king lied to you. He will probably get rid of you as soon as he doesn't need you anymore."

"That's not true!" she was upset "He promised…"

"Oh, please." he laughed "His promises mean nothing. Did you have to say something to him in ancient language? Make a promise or something?"

"Huh, maybe." she looked at him "How did you…?"

"The king always wants to be sure. No one can escape after making an oath." he said coldly "So what did you promise?"

She stared at him, looking shocked and said nothing.

"You don't know?" he sounded amused "That's amazing. You swore something and you have no idea what."

"..I..I do." she said nervously.

"Oh, when you will understand you can't hide anything from me right now?" he said "Your mind is an open book for me."

"Leave!" she yelled, trying to stop the tears forming in her eyes "Please!"

He went out of the room, looking at her for a moment before closing the door. She was afraid. And he couldn't do anything to change things; she already made a pact of their end.

* * *

Murtagh reached the throne room and took a deep breath before opening the door. Galbatorix didn't wait a second; he just threw Murtagh against the wall and got closer to him. Murtagh was pinned to the wall and couldn't move.

"What were you thinking?" yelled Galbatorix and hit Murtagh in the face.

"Do I have to answer that?" Murtagh smiled sarcastically as the blood appeared on his broken lip. Galbatorix was furious. He whispered something in ancient language and Murtagh was screaming in pain as the magic spread through his body like fire.

"Huh, what you have here?" Galbatorix looked at the sword Murtagh had with him for the first time. The king took it in his hand, examining it and smiled.

"How sweet. You got Zar'roc back." the king smiled wickedly, pressing the sharp blade against Murtagh's neck "Now, will you do as I say or I have to remind you how this sword feels in your flesh?"

Murtagh looked angrily at the king, breathing nervously. He closed his eyes for a moment when Galbatorix made a small cut on his neck.

"Good." said Galbatorix, knowing well that Murtagh didn't have a choice. Of course, he could have forced Murtagh to do whatever he wants using just one word, but still he enjoyed the longer way. Suddenly someone knocked on the door and Galbatorix was so surprised that he let Murtagh drop to the ground.

"What?" yelled Galbatorix annoyed, looking at the door.

"Umm, I'm sorry, my king." said Irina nervously "I didn't mean to…"

"I'm glad you are here." Galbatorix suddenly said and turned back to Murtagh who was kneeling on the floor "You have to promise you won't try to hurt Irina or cause her any problems with completing her task."

Irina watched in shock as Murtagh repeated something in ancient language that the king had said. Then Galbatorix threw the sword on the floor and Murtagh got up and took it.

"Murtagh, go to check your dragon." said Galbatorix coldly and looked at Irina "You, come closer. I want to talk to you."

* * *

"Yes, my king." Irina's voice sounded more like a whisper. She came slowly closer, trying to stop the shivering, but she couldn't calm down.

"Irina, I want you to get closer to Murtagh." said Galbatorix.

"What?" Irina looked at him "I mean, I don't understand, my king."

"I want you to make him fall in love with you again!" he said, little bit upset.

"Oh, that." she said quietly "I don't think that is possible…he hates me now."

"So? Make him change his mind." he said.

"My king, is that really important, because I don't have idea how I could change anything?" she whispered.

"Yes, it is important. It could be useful for me later." he said and his eyes shined dangerously.

"I'll try, my king." she said, not realizing that the king wants to use her against Murtagh some day.

"You won't try! You'll do it!" said the king angrily, reminded of what happened with Murtagh.

"I'll do it! I'll do it!" Irina was shaking from fear.

"You have no idea, oh my girl." Galbatorix sighed after looking into her mind.

"I'm sorry, my king?" Irina was confused.

"It's easier than you think. You just have to figure it out." said Galbatorix annoyed "Now get out of here and find a way!"

"Yes, my king." said Irina and almost ran out of the room. She tripped on her long dress while getting out and almost fell. Galbatorix rolled his eyes; this will be harder than he thought.


	2. Not that simple

The next day Irina went out for a walk. Surprisingly, the sky was almost clear; there was just one huge dark cloud right above the castle.

"That's interesting. I hope it goes away." said Irina to herself.

"The cloud won't go away." said Murtagh behind her back and startled her "Galbatorix keeps it here."

"Shit! Don't scare me like that!" Irina looked at him nervously and then she was smiling "So, the cloud really won't go away?"

"Of course it won't." Murtagh raised an eyebrow "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I realized there are no dragons around so I came out to see how this place looks. I think I'll go to the town." said Irina.

"Ah, whatever." said Murtagh.

"Why don't you come with me?" asked Irina, trying to sound as sweet as she could.

"Fuck off, Irina." said Murtagh coldly "Do you really think I have time for that? And I would never go with you."

"Well, you don't have to be an asshole!" said Irina upset "I'm going alone, but that doesn't mean I'll be there alone."

"Do whatever you want. Can't you see I don't give a damn?" he looked at her with despise and left. Irina looked after him nervously, but she decided to go to the town anyway. Anything was better than being all the time in the stuffy castle.

* * *

Irina was walking down the street, realizing that everyone who passed by was staring at her. She was new in the town and people didn't like strangers. Suddenly some woman in black dress waved to her. Irina looked surprised at the woman and got closer. The woman had long black hair and looked young.

"Come, my dear." said the woman and her black eyes shined.

"Umm, who are you?" asked Irina curiously.

"Come with me and I'll tell you." said the woman, smiling mysteriously.

"Ok." Irina said and followed the woman to one small house. It was very dark inside and Irina was shocked when she saw all kinds of weird stuff around. The woman lit another candle while Irina was staring at some small bones on the desk.

"Who are you?" Irina panicked, looking around for a way out. But it was too dark to see the door.

"I'm a witch." the woman smiled "I'm here to help you, Irina."

"How…how do you know my name?" Irina was surprised.

"I know. I know lots of things." the woman kept smiling.

"Awesome." suddenly said Irina and smiled "What else do you know?"

"Come, sit here." said the woman, pulling the chair for Irina. The woman then took something from a pot and sat opposite of Irina. There were bones and herbs on the table and the woman mixed it with her pale hands.

"Are these human?" asked Irina, staring disgusted at the bones.

"No, silly." the woman gave her a pitiful look "These are bones of a dragon."

"Oh, right." Irina said quietly.

"Do you want him?" the woman stared at Irina's hazel eyes.

"What?" Irina looked away, not being able to stand the woman's look.

"The Rider. Do you want him or not?" the woman smiled mysteriously.

"The Rider? You mean Murtagh?" Irina was confused "Who cares about what I want? He hates me!"

"I asked do you want him or not?" the woman made circles on the table with her finger, making Irina nervous.

"Yeah, I do!" she said finally "But that's not…"

"Shh, you want him. I can show you how you can get him." the woman smiled.

"Really?" Irina's eyes widened.

"Yeah." the woman said "Just I want something in return."

"Anything!" said Irina happily "Tell me, please!"

"Take this." said the woman, giving her a piece of paper "Read this and I'll tell you what you have to do."

"Umm, that's easy." smiled Irina and read what was written, even she didn't understand a bit of it "Anything else?"

"That's it, my dear." the woman said and her eyes suddenly changed color from black to white and then back to black.

"And?" Irina looked at her surprised.

"You could have him without too much effort. There are two ways to do this." the woman said.

"Really?" sighed Irina "I have no clue."

"I'll give you a spell for sure success." said the woman, giving her another paper "You read it if you don't succeed and my powers will help you."

"Wow. Amazing. Thanks!" smiled Irina with excitement "But there's also another way?"

"Yes. Can't you see? He's all alone here. He needs someone and soon he will understand you are the only thing he has." the woman said.

"But he has that dragon…" said Irina "He doesn't need me."

"The dragon can't give him all. Remember that." smiled the woman.

"Ok, I didn't think about it." said Irina and smiled again "Thanks!"

"You should go now." the woman smiled and pointed to the door so Irina could find it.

"Yeah, right. What's your name, anyway? Maybe I come to talk to you again!" said Irina while going to the door.

"It's not important. See you some other time." said the woman and Irina waved and closed the door, still smiling.

"_Done._" the woman smiled to herself "_It was my pleasure, my king._"

"_I knew you'll do it._" she heard Galbatorix's voice in her mind.

"_That's why I'm here._" the woman said "_They don't suspect anything._"

"_Yes, and we'll keep it that way. They are my favorite toys right now._" said Galbatorix.

"_What about Eragon?_" she asked.

"_I don't care about him. If he tries to attack, I will know and stop him. He is helpless._" said Galbatorix coldly.

"_And what about me?_" she smiled mysteriously.

"_Come to the castle this night, Illeana._" said Galbatorix "_I want to show you something._"

* * *

When Irina got back to the castle, she saw Murtagh standing in the hall, waiting for her.

"Where were you?" he asked; his eyes locked on hers.

"Why do you suddenly care?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Just answer the question." he said and for a second there was something different in his look.

"I told you. I was in the town." she said nonchalantly.

"Where exactly? Did you talk to anyone?" he was getting nervous but his expression was still emotionless.

"Why? It's not important what I was doing in the town." she said and smiled.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Why did you talk to that woman?" suddenly yelled Murtagh, his eyes shining like fire.

"I should ask you the same question. You're the one reading my mind every fucking time!" she was upset "Relationships don't work without trust!"

"What relationship? There's no such a thing between us!" Murtagh looked at her with despise "Just tell me what the fuck were you doing with that woman!"

"Why don't you just read my mind?" yelled Irina in frustration.

"Because I can't! Someone is obviously protecting that part of your memory or you're that forgetful!" he was annoyed "I never felt something like this before and dare to tell me you know nothing about that."

"Umm, I think I went to her house and…" she tried to remember but it was all blurry "Fuck! I have no idea what happened!"

"Well, great you came to that conclusion!" he rolled his eyes "You're not going anywhere alone anymore!"

"Oh!" she looked at him in disbelief "You can't decide that!"

"Yes, I can!" he grabbed her arm and pushed her against the wall.

"Hey!" she gasped "How can you do that? Didn't you promise…?"

"I promised I won't try to hurt you…and I'm not trying to hurt you, am I?" he smiled, pinning her even stronger to the wall.

"Crap!" she was upset "So, it doesn't count unless you have intention to hurt me?"

"Exactly." he smiled again "But that doesn't matter. You're not going anywhere without me."

"Oh." she looked at him "Fine. I'm going to change; coming with me?"

"Bitch." he rolled his eyes and let go of her "Just don't talk to anyone."

"Hey, if you are antisocial, it doesn't mean I have to be." she shrugged.

"You have no idea what are you talking about!" he yelled, looked furiously at her and went down the hall just to avoid really trying to hurt her. She looked after him, suddenly feeling something in her hand. There was a small piece of paper and something written on it.

"How did this get here?" she was shocked "I had that all the time in my hand or it appeared out of nowhere?"

* * *

Irina went to her room and put the paper on the desk. She opened her closet, trying to find a dress. She didn't like any of them, so she threw everything out of the closet and started to cry. After some moments she ran out of her room, tears still streaming down her face. She went to Murtagh's room and opened the door.

"What now?" Murtagh turned around annoyed and saw her "What happened?"

"I need a new dress." Irina said through tears.

"Huh?" Murtagh blinked in surprise "You're actually crying because your closet full of dresses is not enough?"

"I want a new one! A better one!" she said, totally serious about the subject "I want a dress made for me!"

"You're unbelievable." he said quietly, sitting down on the floor and resting his back on the wall "Ask the maids. They will know how to help you."

She looked at him for a moment as he kept staring at floor. Slowly she closed the door and came closer to him.

"Did I…?" she asked quietly.

"Leave me alone." he didn't move.

"You know that won't make me go away, right?" she smiled but since he didn't react, she sat next to him.

"Go find your fucking dress!" he looked at her annoyed, but his eyes were telling some other story.

"No." she whispered, looking at him while he again stared at the floor "What did I do wrong?"

"Just go away, damn it!" he yelled, still not looking at her.

"I will go if you tell me what I did wrong." she said flatly.

"Don't you get it?" he said coldly "You're acting like a child. You worry about things that are not important. You know nothing about the life and…I don't know is that a good or a bad thing…because sometimes I wish I could get so easily distracted and forget about everything…forget how fucked up my life is!"

"Oh." she looked at him in surprise, gently touching his face. He flinched away from her touch.

"Go find the dress." he said, his expression again cold and emotionless.

"Right." she said and got up "See you later."

* * *

Irina went to find a maid or someone who could help her, but it seemed like everyone was busy doing other things. She finally decided to go back to her room, not realizing that the paper was no longer on her desk.

"Amazing." she sighed when she saw the clothes still on the floor. It looked like a pile of old rags. She started picking up dresses from the floor and putting them back to the closet. Suddenly she stopped and looked at the white dress she was holding. It brought back the images of happy days. She smiled to herself and decided to put it on. The dress still fitted her well but there wasn't a mirror in her room and she wanted to see how it looked. Once again, she ran out of the room, looking around the castle for a mirror. It seemed like there's none. While she was passing by the throne room, she almost ran into Murtagh who was just going out. He stopped and stared at her for a moment.

"I was just…looking for a mirror." she smiled nervously, wondering did her hair at least look good.

"I haven't seen you in that dress…for too long." on her surprise, he smiled.

"Do you remember last time I was wearing it?" she said shyly "You said…"

"Yeah, I said you are beautiful like a white rose." he said and got closer to her, gently touching her face "You still are."

"Umm, thanks." she bent her head down in embarrassment.

"Look at me." he whispered and as soon as she looked up, he kissed her. She gasped in shock; this was totally unexpected. His lips touched hers again, before she could even realize what is going on. He pressed her against the wall, kissing her passionately. Suddenly he took her hand and pulled her with him to her room. He threw her on the bed and locked the door with saying just one word in ancient language. Irina smiled at that as he pinned her to the bed, lifting her dress up and getting rid of her underwear. They kissed again as her hands found the way to pull down his pants. He didn't wait a second; he roughly pushed her legs apart as he continued to kiss her. She just smiled at him.

* * *

Irina looked surprised at Murtagh who got up from the bed, putting his clothes back on. The look on his face was cold and distant.

"Where are you going?" Irina asked suspiciously when he headed for the door.

"I have some things to do." Murtagh didn't even look at her and went out. Irina got up, fixing her dress and decided to follow him. She went down the hall and saw Murtagh entering the throne room. He didn't close the door completely and she could see him talking to the king.

"Did you complete the task?" Galbatorix asked.

"Yes, my king." said Murtagh coldly.

"Good." Galbatorix laughed "But it will probably take some more time until she gets pregnant."

"Son of a bitch!" whispered Irina to herself and ran down the hall, back to her room. She was upset, even she knew she didn't have a reason to feel like that. It was wrong to hope Murtagh will forget that this is all just a job and have the same old feelings for her. She wasn't sure was she still feeling something for him, but it would certainly make her feel better if he did care. And there was this strange memory in her head that she actually told someone she wanted Murtagh to love her or something, but she didn't know anymore what was true and what not.

"_This is all wrong. I will complete the task, take the money and marry whoever I want._" she thought "_It's not important does Murtagh love me or not. The king will have to forgive me that one._"


	3. Bitter

Irina was walking nervously down the hall; two weeks passed by but the bitter feeling didn't go away. She tried to avoid Murtagh as much as she could but now that was impossible. One hour ago Galbatorix somehow found out that she didn't get pregnant and got mad. It wasn't the best idea to piss off the king any further so this night she'll have to try it again. That made her feel sick because the last thing she wanted were Murtagh's fake kisses. Suddenly, she turned around and saw no one else is in the hall. Immediately she ran out of the castle, straight to the town. There she met some of her new friends; some girls who just wanted to hear her story so they have a topic to talk about. Irina went to tell them what is going on and the girls immediately found some reasons to get away from her; no one wanted to get in trouble, especially when it involved the king. Feeling little bit disappointed because no one seemed to have time for her and not understanding the real reasons why the girls went away, Irina went to a pub. She didn't have any idea what she will do so she ordered a glass of red wine to help her clear her thoughts. When it didn't help, she took another and another…Soon she was laughing at whatever the man next to her said. Room around her started to spin and everything seemed blurry.

* * *

Galbatorix was furious because no one in the castle knew where Irina was. Every attempt to find her with magic failed because the images in her head weren't clear.

"How come you don't know where she is?" Galbatorix yelled at Murtagh.

"She should be here any moment." said Murtagh nervously.

"_Should_?" Galbatorix sent a huge wave of black magic at Murtagh who hit the wall "Find her, damn it!"

Murtagh immediately went out of the throne room, trying to hide the pain. But when he got to the hall, he sat down the floor, resting his back on the wall and breathing fast. Two soldiers approached him.

"Find her!" yelled Murtagh through his teeth.

* * *

"Irina?" someone asked but Irina was still laughing and didn't hear anything "Irina?"

"Umm, what?" Irina finally realized someone is trying to talk to her or at least she thought that woman could be speaking to her.

"Come on, Irina. I'll take you back to the castle." said the woman, pulling gently Irina's arm.

"No!" Irina made a sad face and tried to turn away from the woman but she didn't let her go.

"Irina, please. The king is furious." said the woman.

"King?" the look on Irina's face was blank "Tell him…to wait!"

"Irina!! The king will kill you if you don't come back with me now!" the woman said and rolled her eyes when Irina didn't move "Or better…he'll kill me for not bringing you back."

"Who…who…are you?" Irina didn't have any idea does she know the woman or not.

"I'm a maid at the castle, Ofelia. Don't you remember me?" Ofelia was upset and then calmed down "Oh, well, who would remember a maid anyway?"

"Why…you here?" asked Irina and almost fell down while Ofelia tried to take her out of the pub.

"I'm here to help you." said Ofelia, realizing that if she keeps talking, Irina won't even realize they are going back to the castle.

"Don't…need help." said Irina, having a feeling like she is flying.

"Yes, you do." smiled Ofelia while leading Irina out into the dark night.

"Where did all go?" Irina gasped in surprise; just a few moments ago she blinked and now whole pub was gone "Is it magic?"

"What?" Ofelia looked at Irina and then at the small windows on the pub behind their back, finally saying "Yes, magic!"

"That's not nice!" said Irina while Ofelia held her tightly so that she wouldn't turn around and want to go back to the pub.

"True, but now you have to come with me." said Ofelia.

"Where?" suddenly complained Irina "I want…a drink!"

"Come on. We're almost there. Then you can do whatever you want." sighed Ofelia while pulling Irina with her. She didn't understand why this girl was so important that the whole castle had to look for her. In some minutes they were in front of the castle and Murtagh stood there nervously, waiting for them.

"She's here." said Ofelia, pushing Irina a bit closer to Murtagh.

"Where were you?" asked Murtagh coldly. Irina stared at him for a moment, trying to recognize who that is.

"Hey, honey!" she suddenly smiled and both Murtagh and Ofelia looked surprised at her. No one expected that reaction from her.

"She's drunk." said Ofelia "You better take her inside."

"Wait!" Irina looked at Ofelia and suddenly put her arms around Murtagh's neck "You have to meet…my future husba….father of my future baby!"

Murtagh immediately grabbed her arms and pushed her away while she still laughed like crazy. Ofelia left, laughing softly at the whole situation. Murtagh pulled Irina with him and lead her into the castle.

"Let go of me!" said Irina, feeling dizzy.

"Go inside!" said Murtagh angrily when they got in front of her room.

"No." said Irina quietly, feeling the weird taste in her mouth.

"Fuck it, Irina! Just go inside!" yelled Murtagh. She looked at him, smiled and threw up. Murtagh rolled his eyes and wanted to leave her there but in that moment she almost fainted. He took her into his arms and put her on the bed in her room. She smiled at him.

"Stay with me." she whispered.

"No way." he said "You stink."

"Asshole." she murmured a few seconds before she fell asleep.

"Bitch." said Murtagh before he went out to tell the maid to clean up the mess in front of the door.

* * *

Irina woke up next morning, feeling the horrible pain in her head. The taste in her mouth was disgusting and she felt like throwing up again. She looked around for a second and saw Murtagh standing there in the corner of the room.

"You're finally awake." Murtagh sounded bored, like he was waiting forever.

"Why are you here?" asked Irina and then remembered what she was supposed to do yesterday "Oh, I feel tired and every muscle hurts…which means we didn't have sex, right?"

"You are stupid!" said Murtagh while Irina smiled. He got closer to her bed and grabbed her arm.

"What?" she said upset, not feeling like leaving the bed.

"Get up!" he said annoyed.

"I don't…" Irina suddenly gasped, noticing for the first time the large bruise under Murtagh's left eye "What happened?"

"Like you care!" he said and turned away from her.

"Is it…my fault?" she asked timidly.

"You're a genius!" he laughed bitterly.

"I'm sorry." she said quietly.

"You're not." he said coldly.

"I am! What the fuck do you want me to say?" she suddenly yelled "I imagined this totally different."

"Huh." he rolled his eyes "Just get up!"

"I will. I will!" she said "I just want…I don't know. I didn't want it to be like this. I thought it will be more fun."

"Fun?" he laughed "I don't care what you were thinking. I don't care what you are going to do! But do what the king will pay you for and that's it!"

"That will be the best." she whispered "Now if you could get out…I need to…you know."

"Fine." he said and headed for the door.

"One hour." she said "I'll be waiting for you. Oh, and can you get rid of that bruise?"

"Not until you do your job." he said coldly and left.

"Magic." she rolled her eyes and went to find a clean dress.

* * *

Illeana was standing on the terrace of the castle. She was smiling and her look was distant like she let her thoughts go to another place. Galbatorix came behind her back and put his hands around her waist.

"My darling…" he whispered, taking in the smell of her hair.

"When are they going to fall in love?" she asked "Why don't we just use magic?"

"That would be cheating." he laughed.

"Right." she smiled "It would take the fun away, I guess. But you're not helping."

"I want the child first. Then we can play with them." smiled Galbatorix.

"Why do you need their child?" she turned around and looked deep into his eyes "Why not ours?"

"We spoke about that." he said and moved away from her, looking somewhere far in front of him "Maybe later. I wouldn't send my child to death."

"Our child wouldn't fail the task." Illeana said.

"I won't take that risk. Besides, I need you here." said Galbatorix, gently taking her into his arms.

"Fine." she smiled "I'll always be here. But I want something…"

"What?" Galbatorix raised an eyebrow.

"I need some herbs…special herbs." she said.

"What for?" he looked at her suspiciously.

"That's a surprise." she smiled "You're going to like it."

"Ok. Talk to my people. They'll get it for you." he smiled and kissed her.

"Thanks." she smiled, hugging him.

"Anything for you, my dear." he said.

"Come inside. I want to see what will Irina do next." laughed Illeana and Galbatorix came with her into the large dark room. There was a desk in the middle of the room and a crystal ball on it. Illeana sat at the table and whispered something which made the crystal ball to glow. The images started to appear in the ball and both Illeana and Galbatorix smiled at that.


	4. Witches

**Author's note:** I'm so sorry because this took so long but I had problems with my computer and got it finally fixed today, so here it is.

* * *

"That's it." said Irina to herself, taking a deep breath "Just stay cool."

She was ready and that thought was driving her mad. The dress was looking good, her hair fell down her shoulders just like she wanted but still her hands were shaking.

"_What the fuck was I thinking when I accepted this?_" she kept asking herself. But then she would just remind herself it will all be over soon. At least she hoped so. Suddenly someone knocked on her door and startled her. She knew it was him.

"Come in." she said, trying to sound calm but that was much harder than she thought. Murtagh slowly opened the door and entered the room but Irina didn't turn around. She stared at the wall in front of her and didn't even move as he got closer to her.

"Do you remember when we…" she said softly "…when we went to that dance?"

"Yes." he said quietly, standing behind her back.

"And when we ran away from there?" she smiled "I don't remember why…"

"I do." he laughed "We ran away because your mother was staring at us all the time!"

"Oh, right!" she turned around and look into his dark eyes "And we were laughing at her because she couldn't find us! I think I actually ripped my dress on those bushes where we were hiding."

"You did!" he smiled "Your mother was furious when she saw that! And we couldn't stop laughing."

"Yes." she smiled "Why can't we be like we were before? Free and crazy."

"We changed." he said and looked away. Suddenly she turned around again and walked out to the terrace. He followed her impatiently.

"Come on. Are you ready or not?" asked Murtagh, putting his arms around her waist.

"Maybe." Irina smiled.

"Maybe?" he spun her around so she was looking at him again.

"Maybe." she repeated with a playful smile on her face.

"Oh, Irina, don't!" he said nervously "Don't play with me. It's not the right time."

"Umm." she rolled her eyes, still smiling.

"Irina! Don't make this any harder than it already is!" he said "Let's do it."

"Make me!" she gave him a daring look and he let go of her in surprise. Then she ran inside and he followed her. She was looking at him, resting her back on the wall.

"Irina! Stop it!" he got closer to her.

"Stop what?" she looked at him innocently. He rolled his eyes but then smiled and pinned her to the wall.

"You really don't have intention to stop, do you?" he looked at her dark eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about." she smiled and he held her wrists tighter against the wall. He smiled at her and kissed her.

"Don't touch me." she said coldly, looking away from him.

"Ah, no. You're not a lady." he laughed, kissing gently her neck.

"How dare you?" she looked at him, pretending that she felt offended.

"Alright, _lady._" he said, pulling down her dress a bit and kissing her shoulder.

"Let go of me." she tried to get away from him but he didn't let her move. Her dress fell down a bit more.

"Keep your game if you want…if you can!" he laughed, sucking gently on her nipple.

"Damn it!" she moaned as he took her into his arms and carried her to the bed.

* * *

"Explain me one more time why we don't have fun like that?" Illeana looked at Galbatorix and covered the crystal ball.

"I'm a busy king!" he tried to defend himself.

"Oh." she raised an eyebrow.

"Honey, why don't you get your herbs by yourself?" he said "I have some things to do and…"

"You're sending me away." she said coldly.

"No. But you could take a day or two…" he said.

"Fine." she said, looking around the room but avoiding looking at him "Just it would take a week or so."

"That long?" he looked at her surprised.

"Yes, that long." she said "I thought that's what you wanted."

"You know I can't without you." he got closer to her and whispered "Just come back fast."

"Don't worry." she smiled sarcastically "I won't fuck anyone! But I can't promise you I won't find myself a new toy."

"Can't you just get a pet? A cat?" he said nervously. He didn't like her when she was acting like that.

"Well you killed my last toy. He got boring anyway. But you didn't let me play with Murtagh because we're doing that together, right?" she played with her black hair.

"Ah, whatever." he sighed "Just come back."

"Why don't you make me your queen?" she put her arms around his neck and her eyes shined mysteriously.

"All in its time, my darling." he said. He has never even thought of making her a queen or anything. She was just fun and very useful in some situations. She didn't have to know the truth.

"Sure." she said and headed for the door. It was making her sick; he was making her sick. But it was the only way to become the most powerful woman. She didn't care what it takes to become a queen; she wanted it and she knew she'll get it. Sooner or later.

* * *

Irina stared at the ceiling, trying to catch her breath. Murtagh was lying next to her.

"Damn it." she said "This is the only good thing left of our relationship."

"Probably." he said "But it doesn't matter anymore."

"Do you feel anything at all for me?" she looked at him.

"No." he said coldly "Nothing."

"Good." she said calmly.

"Just good?" he looked at her surprised "You won't make a fuss because I said it?"

"No. Better nothing than hatred." she sighed.

"Huh. It doesn't really matter, does it?" he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I know." she said and sat up, looking at him "Do you think we made it this time?"

"I don't know." he was getting up "We'll know soon."

"Where are you going?" she looked at him suspiciously.

"Not your business." he answered.

"Hey! I want to know!" she was annoyed "It's not like you're going to a secret mission!"

"I don't have to say anything to you." he said and headed for the door.

"Yes, you do!" she sounded upset.

"We're not fucking married!" he turned around and looked at her. She ran out of the bed and placed her hand on the door, blocking his way out. He laughed.

"Tell me where are you going or I'm going with you." she said confidently.

"I'm going to see my dragon." he smiled. She looked at him for a second and moved away from the door.

"Go." she said quietly. He smiled and went out.

* * *

"_Wow, don't get used to using me as an excuse. It's not nice._" said Thorn.

"_But it worked._" said Murtagh "_What are you doing anyway? Besides trying to enter my mind while I was with Irina?"_

"_Are you accusing me I knew what you were doing?_" Thorn said, offended.

"_No. I'm just saying what is obvious._" smiled Murtagh.

"_Well, you didn't come to see me. You didn't even talk to me. And all the time you're blocking me out of your mind!_" complained Thorn "_I'm your dragon and you don't care about me!_"

"_You sound like Irina! Just shut up, I'm coming to see you._" said Murtagh.

"_What about Galbatorix?_" asked Thorn.

"_Fuck him. He probably knows already._" said Murtagh, not in the mood to see the king.

"_Oh, I'll try to censor that part to him._" laughed Thorn.

"_Like he doesn't know what we think about him._" said Murtagh.

"_So…I was thinking about Saphira._" said Thorn.

"_What about her_?" asked Murtagh surprised.

"_You know…me and her…like you and Irina…_" Thorn hesitated.

"_Thorn! You're a crazy dragon._" laughed Murtagh.

"_That one I got from you! So, do I have any chance with Saphira?_" Thorn was persistent.

"_Maybe._" said Murtagh and then laughed "_If she's crazy enough!_"

"_Huh. I was serious._" said Thorn, disappointed "_Just forget it._"

"_Hey. You're the most beautiful dragon ever. Any girl would like you._" said Murtagh.

"_Why Irina doesn't like me?_" asked Thorn.

"_It's not that. She's afraid of dragons. And why do you care about her?_" said Murtagh.

"_Well if she gives birth to your child, will the baby be afraid of dragons?_" asked Thorn, worried.

"_That can't be. The destiny of the baby is…well, never mind._" said Murtagh sadly "_I don't even want to think about it._"

"_Just come!_" said Thorn happily "_We're going to fly!_"

* * *

Illeana walked out of the castle right on time. Guards were just changing and she passed unnoticed once again. Sometimes she was angry on Galbatorix because he didn't want anyone to see her visiting him but in some situations it was better for her not to be related to the king. She smiled to herself, thinking how easy it would be for anyone to enter the castle if Galbatorix wasn't watching. There were two men waiting for her in the woods. They were her servants and followed her wherever she went. She couldn't go alone, not only because of the danger but she also needed someone to carry her stuff. It was easy for her to erase compromising events from their minds. They weren't very intelligent anyway but she couldn't risk that someone finds out that she is a witch. Together they went first to her house to get some things she needed and later they left the town. Their trip continued for two weeks; it was more than Illeana told to Galbatorix and she hoped that he will miss her at least a bit. She finally got closer to the Varden. It was something she didn't tell to Galbatorix and he never doubted her to check her mind. After she left her servants in one pub, she left to the woods. There were those special herbs she needed so badly. While she was picking it, she saw a familiar face hiding there.

"Angela." Illeana gave her a fake smile "What are you doing here?"

"I should ask you the same, Illeana." smiled Angela.

"Oh, I'm so glad to see you." Illeana kept smiling "I just came to find some herbs."

"Poison?" Angela laughed.

"No, how dare you?" Illeana smiled innocently "So where is your friend, powerful Dragon Rider? I heard you helped him in the battle."

"You heard?" Angela asked suspiciously "Where? In Galbatorix's castle?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I have nothing to do with Galbatorix." said Illeana.

"You told me last time you're going there." said Angela.

"Oh, you know how it is. Witch's talking!" Illeana laughed "I found something that distracted me from the king."

"And what could that be?" Angela raised an eyebrow.

"I can't tell you." smiled Illeana mysteriously, hiding the herbs she collected behind her.

"Well, did you come here just because of the herbs or you want to meet Eragon?" Angela looked deep into her eyes, trying to find some little sign that she wasn't telling the truth.

"You know I would love to meet him." Illeana said "He's a hero."

"Yes, he is." said Angela "Did you come here to hide from the king? Looking for safety?"

"Do you really think this is a safe place?" Illeana laughed "You were in the middle of the battle and you could be again. But as I see, no one can hurt us, witches!"

"I see you don't want to tell me why you are here." said Angela "Just tell me will you stay?"

"No, I can't stay." said Illeana "I have some things to do far from here."

"Fine, then I'll see you some other time." said Angela, ready to leave.

"Wait!" said Illeana "I would like to meet Eragon. That much time I have!"

"Come with me, then." said Angela, sure that Illeana is hiding something. Maybe Eragon will know.


	5. The castle

"Well done." smiled Galbatorix, looking carefully at Irina "Now we just have to wait."

"I'm pregnant." Irina whispered to herself in disbelief.

"Yes, you are. Now come here." Galbatorix heard her and motioned for her to step closer. She was standing in front of him, her dark eyes expressionless.

"Anything else, my king?" she looked at him.

"Yes." Galbatorix said and looked at Murtagh, who was standing in the dark corner of the room "You are both getting out of here tonight."

"What?" Murtagh asked surprised, looking at the king suspiciously.

"I want you out of the castle. No one in the world is supposed to find out about this." said Galbatorix "I already took care of everyone who knew something here. If our enemies attack, they will attack us here so you have to disappear."

"But where are we going?" Irina asked.

"You're going to the castle at the other part of the land. A place protected by magic. No one will find you there and you'll stay there until Irina gives birth." said Galbatorix "You won't leave the castle under any circumstances."

"No. We're not going there." Murtagh said angrily.

"Oh yes, you are!" Galbatorix was annoyed "I don't care what you think about this."

"We're going to be trapped in the castle?" suddenly asked Irina, upset.

"Well, not exactly like that." smiled Galbatorix "You'll have anything you want there. You won't need outside world."

"But…" Irina didn't know what to say "Are we going to be there _alone_?"

"No, of course not. There will be maids and guards but they won't know anything about you." said Galbatorix "They will think you're just a happy rich couple. And they won't bother you with anything."

"Umm, fine then." Irina shrugged.

"It's not fine!" yelled Murtagh nervously.

"Irina, you can go. I want to talk to Murtagh in private." said Galbatorix and his eyes shined dangerously.

"Yes, my king." said Irina and headed for the door. She stopped for a moment and looked at Murtagh, trying to tell him it's better not to fight with the king. But he just looked away and she left the room.

"You are going there with her one way or the other." Galbatorix smiled.

"You enjoy this, don't you?" Murtagh said angrily.

"Yes, I do." the king laughed "You should better take care of your woman there. I'll kill you if something happens to her or the baby."

"Well, that's something new." Murtagh smiled bitterly.

"Shut up." said Galbatorix "I'm not in the mood…I could make my threat come true."

"You wouldn't dare." said Murtagh "There is no one else who can make Irina feel safe in that castle. And you know how easily she gets upset. It wouldn't be good to get upset in her condition, would it?"

"You're upsetting me and that's not good either." said Galbatorix annoyed and whispered something in ancient language. Murtagh fell down to the floor in pain. Galbatorix smiled and let few moments pass. He finally stopped the spell when Murtagh was near collapsing.

"You see?" Galbatorix said coldly, while Murtagh was trying to catch his breath "I can kill you whenever I want."

"Why…hiding…when you can…kill everyone?" Murtagh said, trying to get up.

"It's better like this." said Galbatorix "Oh, and more fun. It feels almost like old times when Morzan and Selena were here."

"Don't mention them." said Murtagh "I am not my father and I'll never be like him…no matter how much you want it."

"True. He was smarter; he would never dare to confront me." said Galbatorix "But you will be more useful. Your child will be the best Dragon Rider ever. And you'll help me together to be the most powerful king ever and destroy all our enemies."

"No." said Murtagh "I won't help you. I will make sure my child hates you."

"Words, just pure words." laughed Galbatorix "Soon we will know…maybe the child will hate me, but maybe…will hate you. Which is more likely to happen because there is no one who wouldn't like to be the best, the most powerful."

Murtagh just looked angrily at Galbatorix who couldn't stop laughing at his evil thoughts and plans.

"Now, get out of here and take Irina to the secret castle." said Galbatorix.

* * *

Angela took Illeana with her to the place where Eragon was. She went first to ask him does he want to talk to Illeana who might be dangerous. After he said it was fine, Illeana stood in front of him in a second.

"So, this is the famous Rider!" smiled Illeana, looking deep into his eyes.

"Are you Angela's friend?" asked Eragon.

"Hmm." Illeana turned around and looked at Angela who was watching her carefully "You could say so."

"Why did you want to meet me?" Eragon looked at Angela and then back to Illeana. He was suspicious because Illeana didn't let him into her mind.

"I wanted to talk to you." said Illeana, playing with her black hair "I have some useful information for you."

"Really?" Eragon raised an eyebrow and Angela looked suspiciously at Illeana "_Do you know something about this?_"

"_No. She didn't tell but I'm sure she's hiding something._" said Angela.

"Yes." smiled Illeana "You want to beat the king, I know something about that subject."

"Tell me then." said Eragon.

"Sure." said Illeana and suddenly looked at Angela "Could you leave us alone?"

"Why?" asked Angela and looked at Eragon "_I don't trust her._"

"_She can't harm me, can she? She's just a witch._" said Eragon.

"_Just a witch? And what do you know about that subject?_" Angela looked at him annoyed.

"_Sorry._" said Eragon "_Just go. I'll be fine._"

"Eragon is the only person who needs to hear this." said Illeana. Angela finally left, not really happy about it.

"We're alone now. Tell me what you had to say." said Eragon.

"Galbatorix is a silly old man." said Illeana "He is weak and you can beat him easily."

"Why are you telling me this? How do you know?" asked Eragon.

"Because I know." she laughed "I've traveled for a long time. I hear things; I see things."

"So, what do you want me to do?" asked Eragon.

"Attack him." said Illeana coldly.

"What?" he said "We can't just attack him! He'll find out if the army is moving and he'll be prepared."

"No, he won't." she said "You don't need an army to go to Galbatorix's castle. Do it alone. No one has to know."

"That's a crazy idea." said Eragon.

"It's not." Illeana said "Think about it. If just you and me know about this…and you're powerful enough to hide yourself, there's no chance the king would find out what is going on. You could kill him in his own room."

"I don't know." he said "I'm not sure about this and it wouldn't be fair to the others…"

"Wouldn't be fair? Are you sure?" she looked at him "It wouldn't be fair to spare them the pain and death that will come for sure if you face the king and his army?"

He just stared at her dark eyes for a moment.

"How can I trust you?" he asked.

"Oh, you can trust me." she smiled "I'll let you check my mind if you want. You'll see I came up with the idea by myself."

"Ok, I would like to check your mind if you let me do it." he said.

"Sure." she said, biting her lip not to laugh. It was so easy to block certain things from your life and create fake ones with black magic. She let Eragon see some people from her life, but never anything special.

"You're saying the truth." suddenly said Eragon, surprised by what he found out.

"Of course I am." said Illeana "Now tell me will you do it or not?"

"I…I still don't think it's right." said Eragon.

"Fine." said Illeana "I don't want to put any pressure on you. I just thought this would be a good solution, but you are the Rider; you decide."

"I don't want to do anything without opinion of some people." said Eragon.

"Listen to me." she said "You can't tell them about this. They won't let you go and they would just put you in danger. I'm sure they wouldn't betray you but magic is not a simple thing. They could betray you without knowing it. You would just put them in danger, too. You know you have to do this alone. With Saphira, of course."

"I have to think about it." he said.

"Sure. Decide whatever you think is the best, brave one." smiled Illeana "You could save many people."

"Where are you going?" asked Eragon when Illeana seemed to be leaving.

"I have to go." she smiled "I don't have a reason to stay here."

"Why don't you stay for some days?" asked Eragon.

"No, I can't. It's better that I go. That way I won't know what you've decided." she said "I will stay away from here and away from the king."

"Oh, ok." he said.

"Don't tell anyone." she said before she left.

* * *

"Why the king doesn't want us here?" asked Irina and looked at Murtagh who was standing on the terrace while she was packing "It's not like he couldn't hide us here, is it?"

"He has some sick ideas." said Murtagh coldly "Maybe it's better that we stay far away from him, don't you think?"

"Maybe." said Irina "But what the fuck am I supposed to do all the time in the castle?"

"You're pregnant. Where would you go anyway?" he said.

"Huh." she rolled her eyes "You'll be trapped with me in the castle. How does that sound?"

"Oh, great. I'm not sure which is better; to stay with you or with the king." he said.

"Hey, it's not like I can hurt you or anything!" she was upset.

"But you can talk!" he said. She looked at him angrily and he felt a sharp pain in his head.

"_Upset her and I'll kill you no matter where you are. Or even better; I'll hurt your dragon. _" he could hear Galbatorix's voice in his head.

"Ok, fine. You hate me! I won't say a thing." she said and threw the dress she was holding in the bag.

"Oh, come on!" he rolled his eyes and got close to her, putting his arms around her waist.

"Let go of me." she didn't move.

"Calm down." he said, just hoping Thorn will be safe.

"You want me to calm down?" she turned around and looked deep into his eyes "Then don't fucking tell me to calm down!"

"Damn it, Irina!" he said and suddenly kissed her. It was the only way to make her shut up and maybe calm her down a bit. Everything to keep Thorn safe.


	6. New life

Illeana returned to the Galbatorix's castle too late. The king was furious because he didn't know did she betray him even he thought she wouldn't do such a thing as long as he keeps promising her to make her a queen.

"Where the fuck were you?" Galbatorix yelled, getting up from his chair when Ileana entered the throne room.

"I'm here now, aren't I?" she said calmly, not paying any attention to him.

"You said it won't take that long!" he grabbed her arm roughly.

"Calm down, silly." she looked at him annoyed "I did you a huge favor."

"What are you talking about?" he frowned.

"First let go of my arm and then see it for yourself." she said coldly. He let go of her immediately, staring at her dark eyes.

"You spoke to Eragon!" he stared at her in disbelief.

"You don't believe in what you see?" she rolled her eyes.

"I do but…" he said "I didn't know you're capable of…"

"Oh, my dear! You're always underestimating me!" she said angrily "I want to be your queen!"

"Remember it was me who thought you everything!" he said "Besides, now I don't have time for anything! I have to think of a strategy because Eragon might like your idea."

"What do I get? Nothing? Not even your attention?" she was upset "I did this for you and now you are trying to tell me you have better things to do than be with me!"

"Honey, you can keep your toy and take care of him. I saw it in your mind that you have some nice plans." he said.

"I don't want to _be _with him! I want you!" she said "I got him just to test my new potion!"

"I don't care. Like I said, I have things to do." Galbatorix said "We'll have plenty of time after this is over."

"Fine." said Illeana coldly and Galbatorix came closer to kiss her. It wasn't a good moment to send her away because she could still be useful.

* * *

"Ugh, I hate this castle!" said Irina after looking around the castle where Galbatorix had sent them.

"I know what you mean." said Murtagh.

"It's so dark and our servants are creeping me out! They look at us so strange." said Irina as they were going to her room. Galbatorix didn't give them any orders about where they should sleep, so Irina picked out the biggest room for herself.

"They are just under effects of magic." he said and opened the door for her.

"I hate this room too." she sighed.

"Do you want to change something?" he asked.

"I don't know…but staying here for who knows how long is going to kill me!" she said.

"Do you really think I'm happy here?" he looked at her.

"You have your dragon and he'll be here for you any time you need." she got sad "And what will I have? Morning sickness? Big tummy? Worst pain ever?"

"Hey, that's not my fault. It was your decision." he rolled his eyes "I still don't feel sorry for you."

"Uncompassionate asshole." muttered Irina.

"Egoistic bitch." he whispered.

"I hate you." she looked at him.

"I hate you too." he said.

"Fine!" she said.

"Fine." he smirked.

"Do you think our servants will suspect something if we don't sleep in the same room?" suddenly ask Irina.

"Huh?" Murtagh looked at her "Why would they care? Why would we care?"

"All _normal _people care." she said quietly.

"Well, good then." he shrugged "I don't care."

"Whatever. You'll have to deal with it if something happens anyway. You're the one using magic here." she said.

"Whatever." he said.

"Umm, I would like to ask you something." she said quietly, looking at the floor.

"What?" he looked at her.

"Would you give us another chance?" she slowly raised her eyes to look at him.

"Another chance?" he raised an eyebrow "You mean like trying again?"

"Umm, yeah." she nodded.

"Why?" he was surprised.

"Well, we're going to have a baby. Isn't that a good reason?" she said nervously "I mean, you're not my favorite person right now but I was thinking…we're alone here and we were in love actually long time ago…oh, well, not so long time ago but still…"

"Maybe." he looked at her carefully.

"No! Don't fucking read my mind! I'll get upset!" she looked at him angrily, knowing that he would probably discover that she is not sure what she feels. Love was maybe too hard word for what she felt. Maybe she just wanted him to fall in love with her again because it would feel good. Or maybe she never stopped loving him; her mind was a mess. She wasn't sure of anything anymore.

"Fine, fine!" he raised his arms defensively "I'm not doing it! I swear! Even you couldn't really tell, could you?"

"Freak." she looked at him angrily as he started to laugh.

"So, are we going to try? For the baby?" she gave him a pleading look.

"Whatever." he smiled.

"Is that a yes?" she asked.

"I guess it is. We have nothing to lose. Not even the time." he said. Having a baby was a big thing and maybe there was still a chance to do this in a nice way.

"Great." she said, relieved.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"I'm hungry." she said and smiled.

"What would you like to eat?" he asked.

"Just tell the servants to prepare something. You probably remember what I like." she laughed.

"Ok." he said and went out of the room.

* * *

Even Irina was nervous and moody most of the time, her pregnancy was going on well. Murtagh tried to make her happy and fulfill all her wishes but there was still strange tension between them. Days and months were all the same to Irina and she had a feeling the dark stone walls will fall onto her. It was very depressing but not only for her. Murtagh had a feeling that dark magic and Galbatorix's control changed his mind so much that he was having headaches most of the time. Thorn got bored of small woods near the castle and soon he didn't have what to hunt so sometimes he flew away and hadn't come back to the castle for two days. The servants were still under the influence of magic and every day they looked scarier to Irina. One night was especially dark and it hid whole castle in the mist. It was completely quiet when Irina's scream pierced the silence like a thunder.

"Irina!" Murtagh ran through the hall to get to her room. He opened the door and saw a servant standing over Irina and holding her hand. Irina screamed in pain again.

"What's wrong?" Murtagh looked at the woman.

"Are you that stupid?" yelled Irina and screamed again "I'm…in labor!"

"Oh." he could suddenly see her better in the dark. Torches didn't give enough light to the room. Irina's forehead was covered with sweat and she was breathing hard.

"Why are you still standing here?" she yelled at him angrily "Get out of here!"

"Why?" he looked at her surprised.

"Just get out of here or…" she screamed again. He left the room immediately. He was waiting in the hall for some time until he heard a cry. The baby was crying. He couldn't stand it anymore and he entered the room.

"Oh, you're such a cute baby!" the servant was gently holding a small baby wrapped up in the white blanket. Murtagh got closer and realized his heart is beating fast. He stared at the dark eyes that were looking at him and a small mouth smiled at him.

"Oh, sorry." the woman realized that Murtagh came "Do you want to hold the baby?"

"Yeah!" he said with excitement as the woman gave him that beautiful tiny creature. He wasn't sure how to hold the baby right; it just seemed to be too fragile. It was like holding a raindrop in your hands.

"What will be the baby's name?" the woman looked at Irina, who was lying on the bed.

"Luna." Irina whispered weakly "Her name is Luna."

"Do you need anything?" the woman looked first at Irina then at Murtagh.

"You can go." said Murtagh and the woman left the room.

"Give her to me!" Irina suddenly tried to get up but she fell down on the bed again; she was exhausted. Murtagh gently gave her the baby.

"She's beautiful." he whispered.

"Well, she is your daughter." Irina said quietly.

"Are you okay?" he suddenly looked at Irina "Do I have to heal anything?"

"I'm fine. Well, tired. But I'll be fine." Irina said and looked at Luna "Could you take her?"

"Yeah, sure." Murtagh carefully took Luna into his arms and kissed Irina's forehead "I'll take care of her. You just rest."

"Thanks." Irina smiled weakly "But bring her back to me later."

"Okay." Murtagh said and Irina closed her eyes.

* * *

"_Congratulations._" said Thorn while Murtagh was walking down the hall, holding the baby in his arms "_Can I see her?_"

"_I'll bring her to you. But Irina mustn't know!_" said Murtagh, knowing that Irina would freak out if she knew her baby is close to a dragon.

"_Don't worry. I won't tell._" laughed Thorn.

"_I know that! I was thinking on something else…servants mustn't see us._" said Murtagh.

"_Fine. Just bring her! I want to see her!_" said Thorn "_How is Irina?_"

"_She's fine._" said Murtagh.

"_What will happen with Luna? Galbatorix probably wants us all back to his castle or not?_" asked Thorn.

"_I don't want to think about it. I wish I could take her and Irina far away from here. I wish we could have normal life._" said Murtagh.

"_So the king didn't speak to you already?_" Thorn asked, worried.

"_No. In fact, I don't have a headache anymore. And I don't know how much effort it takes for Galbatorix to contact me so far from him._" sighed Murtagh "_I hope he dies._"

"_So, if we had a normal life, would you marry Irina?_" asked Thorn "_There is something different about the way you talk of her._"

"_She's the mother of this precious little baby._" smiled Murtagh "_Luna woke up in me some different feelings. I was in love with Irina before…and Luna somehow makes it easier to forget the time that passed when we separated…it all seems like a dream._"

"_Aww, I already love her!_" said Thorn when Murtagh finally brought Luna to him.

* * *

"Irina gave birth." said Galbatorix, sitting in his chair while Illeana was walking around the room. Illeana was again patient and sweet with Galbatorix, hoping to become a queen and he kept pretending he will make her queen.

"What are you going to do now?" she asked.

"It's too dangerous for them to come here. Enemies could discover my plan because they are probably waiting for news from this castle." he said.

"Eragon will come." she said suddenly "But not yet…maybe in a year."

"He is taking so much time…" he sighed "Better for me, anyway."

"It's normal for Eragon…it's a hard decision…" she said "But I still see him coming. Nothing changed."

"Then I'm going to visit Irina and Murtagh." he said.

"Why?" she raised an eyebrow.

"I don't want to send things I have to say just like that. I have to say it in person. I don't want anyone out there to know." he said.

"Someone might follow you." she said.

"No. I'll take care of that. Shruikan can go very fast. I'll be back before they notice I've left." he said confidently.

"What about me?" she looked at him "I want to go with you."

"No, you'll stay here." he said "I need you here. In case that something happens."

"Huh, fine." she smiled "But what are you going to do?"

"I'm taking the green egg with me. I have to know can the baby be a Rider." he said "Then we'll have something to talk about."

"Do you know anything about the baby?" she asked.

"No. I just know Irina gave birth. I didn't feel like passing any more information…didn't want it to end up in wrong hands." he said.

"You're the king and you are so powerful, then why are you afraid someone could do something to harm you or steal some information?" she looked at him.

"It's doesn't hurt if you're cautious." he said.

"Good. Then go." she said and smiled mysteriously.


	7. Dragons

Thorn noticed Shruikan on the sky few minutes before the king and the black dragon landed near the castle. It was something Murtagh and Thorn didn't expect. No one would ever think that the king will travel somewhere and leave his castle.

"Where is the baby?" Galbatorix didn't feel like using magic.

"Why?" Murtagh asked coldly.

"Where is the baby?" Galbatorix yelled.

"She's with her mother." said Murtagh.

"_She_?" Galbatorix was surprised.

"Yes. It's a girl." Murtagh looked angrily at the king.

"Well, it doesn't matter. Let's see what happens." said Galbatorix. Even he hoped it will be a baby boy, it didn't really matter as long as the baby can become a Rider. That's why he didn't check it before in the first place.

"I won't let you touch her!" Murtagh suddenly yelled.

"Oh, please!" Galbatorix rolled his eyes "Like you could stop me! But I'm here for something else."

Galbatorix went through the hall, straight to Irina's room. Irina gasped when she saw him entering; the baby in her arms started to cry.

"Shh, honey." Irina whispered to Luna, but she kept crying.

"Oh, she's here!" Galbatorix smiled and got closer. In Irina's eyes it was too close and she took a step backwards. Murtagh ran into the room right after the king, watching carefully what will happen.

"Please." Irina whispered "You're scaring her."

"I am?" the king laughed "Don't worry, Irina. Give her to me now because I really wouldn't like to use…you know."

Irina immediately remembered what she promised to the king. But her life now was something completely different. She didn't know that she will feel love for the baby and she couldn't leave her daughter like she promised. Even before the king came, Irina had in mind to ask him if she could stay longer than they agreed. All the time she was angry on herself for agreeing to do this. Money didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered anymore; just Luna. After a moment of thinking, Irina gave Luna to Galbatorix; it was the only safe option.

"Good baby." smiled Galbatorix and placed Luna on the bed. He took the green egg out of his black coat. Irina gasped and Murtagh was standing next to her in a second, holding gently his arm around her waist.

"Don't do that." said Murtagh "She is too young!"

"She's not." Galbatorix laughed and held the green egg above Luna. The baby stopped crying. The egg was almost bigger than her. She moved her small hands a bit, but didn't seem to be interested in the egg. To her it was like nothing was there. Galbatorix got impatient when Luna started to cry again. He suddenly took her small arm and placed it on the egg. Luna cried out loudly and Murtagh got angry.

"Let go of her! You're hurting her!" Murtagh tried to push the king away from Luna. Galbatorix just whispered a word in ancient language and threw Murtagh across the room. He finally let go of Luna's hand and placed the egg on the bed next to her. Irina was crying when the egg started to move.

"Can I, please, take her away? The egg might hurt her!" Irina panicked.

"No!" Galbatorix yelled and stopped both Irina and Murtagh from trying something. He watched in amazement as the egg hatched. Little green wings broke the egg first, and then the head appeared. Irina screamed; the shock of seeing a dragon, even a baby, near her daughter made her hysteric. Galbatorix felt annoyed and used magic again. This time Irina fell down on the floor, unconscious. Murtagh hurried to take Irina in his arms; he wasn't sure if she was still alive. The green little dragon looked curiously around the room. Galbatorix was still waiting and Murtagh just stood there, unsure what to do. It was too late to stop this. But then after some minutes, the green dragon got closer to Luna and settled on the bed near her. Both Galbatorix and Murtagh stared in shock at the dragon and the baby who fell asleep next to each other.

"That stupid dragon!" yelled Galbatorix and went out of the room completely furious. Murtagh was relieved when Irina finally opened her eyes; obviously Galbatorix stopped using his magic.

"What happe…?" Irina was confused as she tried to get up and suddenly yelled "Get that dragon away from my daughter!"

"Shh." Murtagh said "You'll wake them up."

"But there's a fucking dragon near my daughter! Are you blind, you idiot?" Irina was hyperventilating.

"Irina, please! It's her dragon. He's not going to hurt her." Murtagh said "I'm sure of it."

"But…" she kept staring in disbelief "It's just…"

"Why do you want to talk to the king?" he suddenly asked.

"Stop…reading…my…thoughts!" she yelled at him, frustrated "You people with stupid monsters! Will she be able to read my mind like you do? You know what? I don't want to know! It's disgusting!"

"Irina, come on! Dragons are not monsters!" he got angry "They are like friends…family…whatever! They understand us more than we understand each other."

"Still it's not right!" she said "That thing is sleeping next to our daughter!"

"And you don't want to wake up _that thing_, right?" he looked deep into her eyes "So, get out of this room."

"Right." she sighed "I'm going to talk to the king."

"What? Are you out of your mind?" he was upset "The king is not in the mood."

"I have to ask him or I'll be forced to go." she said quietly "I promised…well…it doesn't matter."

She ran to the door before he could say something.

* * *

"What do you want?" Galbatorix yelled annoyed when Irina approached him in the dark hall.

"My king, please, listen to me." Irina said quietly.

"What?" he looked at her.

"I want to talk to you about our deal." she whispered.

"I'm still waiting!" he said impatiently.

"I would like to stay with my daughter and…not leave like we agreed I would…" she was shivering from fear.

"Fine." he snapped.

"What?" the word went out of her mouth before she could think better.

"Fine." he repeated calmly "I need you here anyway."

"Thank you, my king." she said and hurried down the hall, away from the king. He just stayed there, thinking. It was better that Irina stays with the baby because she is the only one who can take of her properly. Other servants probably wouldn't be so careful with stranger's child.

"Huh." Galbatorix said to himself "Keep her too close to the baby and you'll get a stupid, useless and weak child…just like the mother. I'll have to take care of that too."

* * *

Days and weeks were passing by. The baby was growing; the baby dragon was growing. But the dragon still didn't leave a mark on Luna's palm. Galbatorix left long time ago but he made Murtagh and Irina promise many things in ancient language just to make sure. Murtagh and Irina enjoyed their moments together with Luna and the green dragon was playing with Thorn but most of the time he stayed with Luna.

"Oh, come on!" complained Irina when the dragon hiccuped fire for the first time and burnt the pillow on the bed "Get that thing out of here! It won't only bite Luna, it will burn her!"

"I thought you'll get used to him." Murtagh smiled and repaired the damage with magic "She's safe here. And he doesn't want to be away from her. He's still small…which surprises me."

"You mean he's supposed to be bigger?" Irina rolled her eyes "Last thing I need is a huge dragon next to my baby daughter! He already keeps me away from her!"

"That's your problem! He won't hurt her and he won't hurt you. I don't get it why you never get close to her when he's around." he said "And yes, he's growing too slow for a dragon. Actually I have a feeling he's growing as she grows."

"Well, talk to him! You're the damn rider!" she said.

"I can't talk to him. Not even Thorn can. They just play but he never says anything." said Murtagh "He's like a real baby. We don't even know his name! Or maybe he'll wait for Luna to decide. I don't know."

"Huh." Irina shrugged "I don't give a fuck. Just get the dragon out of here!"

* * *

"Why don't you stop breaking your head with the dragon and the baby and come with me?" Illeana finally asked after many long sleepless nights in Galbatorix's castle.

"But what is going on?" Galbatorix was upset "Why is the dragon growing so slowly? Why didn't it leave a mark?"

"If you're so upset about it, why don't you make the dragon grow with magic?" Ileana was annoyed; all this worrying made her nervous "You did it with Thorn. I don't see a problem."

"I can't do that! I don't know what will happen if I make the dragon grow! He might never make her a Rider!" he frowned "Both of them are totally unpredictable! Luna is just a normal baby and the dragon is at the moment a free dragon! At the moment he stays with Luna but if I make him grow up, he can act unpredictably."

"Well, sounds like a job for me." smiled Illeana "Future telling."

"It wouldn't help, Illeana." he sighed "I already tried. But their minds are too young to make a decision so it could be anything…it's just horrible!"

"Then let them grow and stop worrying about it!" Illeana said; there was another idea in her mind "Like you said, the dragon is still with her so it's not like he'll leave her. He hatched for her and he'll wait for her I guess. She's too small and young for the process. Now come with me!"

"You go!" he just yelled "I'll stay here."

"Right." she muttered angrily and went out of the throne room. She's been trying every night to get the king to be with her. It was obvious to her that he won't make her a queen just like that. She had to make him love her more. But it was a hard thing to do; his mind was completely occupied with Luna and Eragon. There was just no place for other things.

* * *

"Eragon is coming!" Illeana suddenly ran into the throne room one night. Galbatorix didn't even move to look at her.

"Hello!" she got in front of him and waved in front of his face "Are you here? Did you hear what I said?"

"I heard you!" he yelled, his dark eyes shining dangerously.

"Then why didn't you say something?" she asked.

"Huh." he looked at her "You better be careful. We can't risk that he _sees_ you here when he enters the castle."

"Oh, don't worry. I'll be right behind his back." she smiled mysteriously.

"I can't feel Saphira. Where is she?" he said.

"Umm, I saw him coming. I didn't see the dragon." she said "But she must be near. She wouldn't let him go alone. And he can't risk to be seen so maybe…they have some powerful magic protecting her."

"Maybe. She'll have to come when we get him." Galbatorix laughed suddenly "He's coming! I've been waiting for this for so long."

"So what's the plan?" she looked at him curiously "Will you let him get in here?"

"What is his plan?" asked Galbatorix.

"I don't know." Illeana admitted "He's protected well. It's a miracle already that I managed to see him coming!"

"You don't know?" he raised an eyebrow.

"No, I don't." she bit her lip.

"I'll take care of him. I'll let him come here. But he'll have to deal with the guards first." he smiled.

"I thought you were going to remove the guards." she was surprised.

"That would be suspicious, wouldn't it?" he smiled again "You're so stupid sometimes that I wonder how you survive."

"Watch out. You're probably underestimating Eragon." she said coldly "You do that all the time."

"Where do you think you're going?" he looked at her when she headed for the door.

"To hide?" she stopped surprised.

"No, stay here." he said "I want him to see you here. I want him to know I won."

"Oh." she said quietly; it could have meant that she'll become a queen finally. But she didn't know that Galbatorix was just playing with them all.


	8. Captured

Illeana was sitting next to Galbatorix in the throne room when Eragon got closer to the castle. She looked at Galbatorix who seemed to be concentrating hard on something. Suddenly in front of them appeared something like a black see-through veil.

"What…?" Illeana wasn't sure should she ask something.

"It's an illusion." Galbatorix whispered "It looks like a wall from other side."

"A wall? But why?" she was surprised.

"It wouldn't be good that he sees us immediately, would it?" he laughed and closed his eyes again, whispering something she couldn't hear right.

"Oh!" she gasped when she saw someone appeared behind the veil. Galbatorix was the one who was standing there but when she looked next to her he was still there. She was shocked so much that she didn't know what to say. There were two of them!

"Another illusion." Galbatorix laughed "It looks just like me."

"Yeah! How did you…?" she was amazed "But why is he looking at us?"

"Oh, he's not looking anywhere. He's not real." Galbatorix laughed "He just turned his back to the door…and to Eragon. Because we want him to come in, right?"

"How powerful are you?" she smiled.

"Enough." he laughed "I've been using black magic for years. I know secrets no one else knows."

"Will you tell me some?" she looked at him.

"Not now, my dear." he said "He's getting closer so is there anything you want to say before the show begins?"

"Umm, when we capture him…do I get to play with him?" she smiled innocently.

"Of course, my dear. Just don't kill him." he laughed.

"Deal." she smiled mysteriously "I have just right potion to test."

* * *

"Something's wrong." Murtagh said nervously as he looked at Luna and the green dragon.

"What?" Irina immediately took Luna into her arms, away from the dragon who looked at her with his bright eyes.

"I don't know. It's something about the dragon." he said.

"I knew it!" Irina took few steps away from the dragon "Get him out of here!"

"No, Irina, wait!" Murtagh said "I didn't mean he's dangerous."

"Oh." Irina sounded disappointed.

"I think he's trying to tell us something…but he can't." Murtagh looked at the dragon who jumped a bit on the bed.

"Huh?" Irina raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe a connection between dragons and their riders is more powerful than we thought…maybe he really can't grow normally if the rider is too young." Murtagh said and Irina looked at him like he just said something in a language she doesn't understand "Thorn said it could be possible that the dragon is older now in his mind than in the body. Luna is keeping him the way he is. Because he is now a dragon without a rider; he is waiting for her but if he would grow before her then he would be a free dragon. Wild dragon."

"You see now? Get him away from my daughter before something happens!" Irina said.

"No. We know nothing for sure. It's just an idea." said Murtagh "Maybe he is trying to tell us we shouldn't worry or something."

"Huh." Irina was skeptic when it came to dragons.

"I just wonder how long will it take for him to make Luna his rider." said Murtagh.

"Yeah, whatever." said Irina "All you do is talking about the dragon and things like that."

"Well, it's an interesting thing." Murtagh said "And I don't talk about it _all_ the time!"

"No, honey, you don't." Irina said "But when you don't talk about it then you read some stupid magic books."

"Irina, you know I'm just looking for a way to get us all out of this." he was upset because she obviously didn't appreciate what he was trying to do "Do you want live like this forever?"

"Forever. Huh." Irina laughed "I almost forgot you Dragon Riders live longer than normal people."

"It's not that!" he looked at her annoyed "We don't know how long Galbatorix will want you here. Do you want to leave your daughter?"

"No." she whispered "Never."

* * *

Eragon entered the throne room just in time; at least that was what Galbatorix thought. He immediately noticed a figure standing in the corner of the room. He was sure it was Galbatorix who stood there. Illeana and real Galbatorix were still sitting quietly under the veil. She had a hard time controlling herself; she just wanted to laugh. Galbatorix kept whispering something and concentrating. Eragon took a sword in his hand and carefully get closer to Galbatorix. When he was just few steps away, he used magic against the king who was standing there and moving a bit from time to time. He gasped as the magic went right through Galbatorix's figure and destroyed the illusion. Galbatorix started to laugh from behind the veil and the door of the throne room closed with a loud thud. Eragon looked around in panic; there seemed to be just walls around him. Suddenly a big wave of magic came from the corners of the room and surrounded him. He dropped the sword on the floor and felt like he can't breathe. He fell down on his knees, still trying to do something but his mind was completely empty. Galbatorix moved away the veil and got up from the chair, holding Illeana's hand. Eragon look at them in shock as they both laughed. In a few moments dark cloud went tighter around him and he fell down unconscious.

"Our prize is coming!" laughed Galbatorix as the soldiers ran into the throne room "Take him to the best kept dungeon."

"So she's coming?" Illeana smiled, thinking how long it will take Saphira to get there.

"Yes, she's furious." Galbatorix said "She will want to attack us. But she'll be surprised."

"You have a plan?" Illeana looked at him curiously.

"Yes, as always." said Galbatorix "She wouldn't risk that something happens to her dear Eragon."

"What now?" asked Illeana.

"Murtagh and Thorn must be here in a week." said Galbatorix "There is no reason to keep them and Luna away."

* * *

"Ahh! Fuck!" Murtagh closed his eyes for a moment, putting his hands on his head.

"Are you okay?" Irina was worried.

"Do I look okay?" he said angrily.

"I was just asking!" she rolled her eyes "What is going on?"

"It's Galbatorix." he sighed "He wants us back."

"Back? But why now?" she was surprised.

"Well, he just prefers this painful way of sending messages so I didn't get that much information." he looked at her annoyed.

"And what do you think why he wants us back?" she looked worried.

"No, it's not because he wants you to go away." he said "I think something happened."

"Do you always have to read my mind?" she rolled her eyes.

"Well, there's nothing that could stop me from doing that." he smiled.

"Right." she said "But will you protect us? If something…"

"Why are you asking me that?" he was surprised.

"If someone…the king…tries to hurt us, will you…do something?" she looked at him.

"Irina, he won't hurt you!" Murtagh said, putting his arms around her waist "Luna and you are everything I have…I won't let anyone hurt you!"

"But the king can make you…" she looked sad.

"No! If he tries to hurt Luna, I can confront him long enough for you two to escape!" he said, holding her closer to him.

"What?" Irina looked at him in shock "What are you trying to say?"

"Listen to me, Irina. If something happens…you and Luna can be safe. Just run away with her and don't look back. Promise me that, please." he looked deep into her eyes.

"But you can't do anything against the king!" she didn't know what to say.

"I can." he said; it seemed like a shadow covered his face.

"How?" she was upset.

"I would do anything to keep Luna safe." he said quietly "My life means nothing anyway."

"What?" she frowned "Are you out of your mind? Luna needs you!"

"Are you sure about that?" he asked "Does she really need a father like me?"

"The king really caused you brain damage with that last message, didn't he?" she laughed nervously "How can you say something like that?"

"Irina, think about it." he moved away from her, staring at the wall in front of him.

"No!" she said "Do you think I could take care of a child _alone_?"

"You can, Irina. You can." he said "And you don't have to be alone."

"I don't like this conversation." she took a deep breath "I don't want…no, I won't promise you anything."

"Don't you love your daughter?" he said "You're so selfish. We need to think what is best for her…"

"And at the moment nothing is!" yelled Irina before he could finish "I don't know what are we discussing here anymore! Are we talking about what could happen or are we talking about something you plan to do?"

"I'm not planning anything!" he was upset.

"No, don't fucking lie to me!" she yelled "You plan to confront the king and send me and Luna away before she is old enough to make oaths to him!"

"You started this conversation, remember?" he said coldly.

"I did. But you just thought this is a nice opportunity to tell me about your plans, didn't you?" she closed her eyes for a moment "Maybe you even put the question into my head! How the fuck am I supposed to know?"

"Irina, please!" he grabbed her arm "You're wrong! Think about Luna and not about how you can't do it!"

"Let go of me!" she said and he released her. She looked at him with tears in her eyes and started to run down the hall. He followed her.

* * *

"Hello, my love!" Illeana entered the dungeon as soon as Eragon woke up.

"You!" he hissed and she laughed.

"I knew you would come." she smiled and he wanted to attack her but the chains were keeping him in place "I knew you would do the right thing."

"You lied to me!" he cried desperately.

"Oh, you're so sweet sometimes." she said "Of course, I lied."

"Why?" he asked, trying to use magic but he couldn't do anything.

"Why? Oh, sweet and stupid! It wasn't because of you…it was her who we wanted." she laughed at the shocked expression on Eragon's face "Yes, she's here; with Shruikan. And no, you can't talk to her! It would be too nice of us to allow you that."

"What did you do to Saphira?" he yelled.

"Oh, nothing. She's not like you used to know her…but she'll be fine." she said "We need her for…well, you know. I think Murtagh told you that before."

"No…" he whispered "You have to let us go…"

"And why would I do that?" she raised an eyebrow "Are you offering me something?"

"Illeana, please! The king is evil! He has to be stopped!" he said "You can have a different life when he's gone."

"Don't talk like that about the man I love." she smiled "You're the one who doesn't understand the difference between good and evil. You're evil, honey. You're the one trying to destroy the country."

"No." he said disgusted "What are you going to do with me?"

"I have some nice ideas for you." she said mysteriously "Something special."

"You bitch!" he yelled.

"Shut up!" she said coldly and walked to another part of the dungeon, taking something into her hands; some blue liquid.

"What are you going to do?" he looked at her "Kill me?"

"No, you're just going to stay here. You're too valuable to be killed…for now." she said, raising the small bottle higher in the air "That's why I tested this on rats before using it on you."

"Your plans won't work no matter what!" he said "You can't win; not you, not Galbatorix!"

"Oh, and you can?" she rolled her eyes "You don't even know our plans."

"It won't work! I'm sure." he said.

"Oh, it already worked." she laughed and he looked at her surprised "Don't look at me like that. Saphira's here, you're here and we have a new Rider."

"New Rider?" he asked.

"Yes, she'll be our most powerful weapon!" Illeana smiled "She's born for that."

"No one would agree to do that." Eragon said angrily "Or you forced her to serve you! She'll turn against you when she gets a chance!"

"Don't worry for us." she said "I wonder on whose side you would be if you only knew for one side."

"Who is she? Tell me!" Eragon said nervously.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." she said "You have the right to know…I forgot you're…related!"

"What?" he was shocked.

"She's Murtagh's daughter." Illeana smiled.

"Wait, what?" he couldn't believe it.

"Her name is Luna. And she's such a beautiful baby!" she laughed "We're going to raise her to be pure _evil_…if that's what you think we are…evil."

"It'll take years!" he said.

"We have time. Nothing is going to happen if you're here." she smiled "But no more talking…I want to test this stuff."


	9. Love & hate

It was late at night when Murtagh, Irina, Luna, Thorn and little green dragon came back to Galbatorix's castle. Irina didn't speak with Murtagh since their last fight and she tried hard not to think about it. Murtagh realized immediately what was going on in the castle; there was another dragon there and it could have meant only one thing.

"I know why he wanted us back." said Murtagh "He's got Saphira!"

"What?" Irina was surprised.

"That's not good." he whispered "If Eragon and Saphira are here…Galbatorix's plan goes better than we thought."

"But how did he…?" she asked.

"I don't know." he said "Probably Eragon made it easier…"

"Huh. What now?" she said nervously "The king probably knows we are here…"

"Of course he does. Come. Maybe he tells us something." he said and Irina followed him to the throne room, holding Luna all the time in her arms.

* * *

"Oh, you're finally here!" said Galbatorix "I see you're surprised by the latest events here!"

"Yes, another dragon…" Irina whispered nervously.

"Don't worry, my dear." laughed Galbatorix "You won't have to be close to the dragons if you don't want to."

"Yes, my king." Irina bit her lip; it was better for her not to talk too much.

"Oh, I'm so sorry I'm late." they heard a voice behind their back.

"You didn't miss much, my love." Galbatorix smiled as Illeana walked to the chair next to him. Murtagh and Irina both looked surprised at the woman. Irina had some strange feeling about her but she wasn't sure what it was.

"Oh, I'm being rude." she laughed suddenly "My name is Illeana."

"A witch." whispered Murtagh and Irina looked at him surprised.

"So this must be your precious daughter Luna!" Illeana smiled and pointed at the baby in Irina's arms. It just made Irina press Luna closer to her; she was sure she doesn't want this woman to touch her daughter.

"The dragon is with Thorn?" asked Galbatorix.

"Yes." Murtagh said.

"Well, how lovely!" the king laughed "I hope they'll get along nicely. Saphira is little bit out of her mind right now."

"What did you do with Eragon?" Murtagh asked suspiciously.

"Oh, he's fine." Illeana smiled mysteriously "I just saw him."

"I know you're curious about how he got here…but we'll keep that a secret." smiled Galbatorix "It's time to do something about Luna."

When he said that, Irina held Luna so close to her that the baby started to cry and Murtagh immediately stepped in front of them, hiding them a bit.

"Oh, please. I'm not going to hurt her." Galbatorix said in a sweet voice but Murtagh just looked at him angrily.

"Wow, there's a lot of tension in this room!" said Illeana "I'm sure you had a long trip and you're tired. Irina, why don't you take Luna to your room? I think you both need a rest."

"That's a good idea." smiled Galbatorix "You can go, Irina. And take care of this beautiful child of yours."

"Yes, my king." Irina said quietly and immediately left the throne room. Murtagh looked carefully at Illeana; no doubt she was some crazy witch.

"Did you really think Saphira will never be here?" Galbatorix laughed "I told you I'm the most powerful and no one can do anything against me…"

"Then let Luna go. You don't need her." said Murtagh.

"Oh, how sweet." said Galbatorix "But I won't let her go. Why would I do that?"

"She's just a baby! You can't make her a Rider just like that." said Murtagh "You see it's wrong because even dragon didn't make her his Rider yet! Maybe she won't even be a Rider."

"So I'm supposed to let Irina go away with Luna and keep the dragon?" Galbatorix raised an eyebrow and laughed "Don't be pathetic."

"You don't need her…" Murtagh said "You're just wasting time! She's not the one you need for this…"

"Oh, are you sure I don't need her? I have you?" Galbatorix laughed "You would do anything for me just if I let her go?"

"Anything." Murtagh whispered "Please…"

"This is very amusing! I thought I'll never hear that word!" Galbatorix laughed again "There is only one way to free her of me…you can kill her!"

"I'll kill you before…!" Murtagh yelled angrily. Galbatorix just smiled and whispered something in ancient language and Murtagh fell down unconscious on the floor.

"It stopped being amusing." Galbatorix smiled at Illeana as she got up from her chair.

"Is he dead?" she got closer to Murtagh.

"No." Galbatorix laughed "I won't kill him."

"Oh, right. Thorn." Illeana smiled.

"It's not just because of Thorn…ah, well, never mind." said Galbatorix.

"So, he's in love with Irina again?" Illeana smiled playfully.

"Yeah, part of him is in love with her…that one that wants normal life." Galbatorix rolled his eyes "Why?"

"Give him to me, please!" she said with excitement "I'll tell him…I'll show him…that Irina used a spell on him for this! It's the right time to tryout our work!"

"You're really evil, my darling." smiled Galbatorix "We planned this to have some fun with them, so why not?"

"Oh, my love!" Illeana almost danced around the room "But can I have him just for one day, night or whatever? He's just so interesting!"

"Illeana, don't push it." Galbatorix warned.

"But…" she looked disappointed "I wouldn't do anything to him."

Galbatorix just raised an eyebrow.

"Ok, ok! I promise I won't use my potions on him!" she pleaded "I just want to talk to him!"

"Ok." Galbatorix said "I'll tell the guards to take him to your room. Just tell him the part about Irina; it will be a lot of fun."

"I love you!" she smiled "I can't wait for his reaction."

* * *

"Hey, sweetheart!" Illeana smiled when Murtagh opened his eyes. He looked at her in shock and sat up in the bed.

"What do you want?" he asked suspiciously, looking around the room.

"Relax." she said "You're in my room."

"What?" he got up from the bed, trying to get out of the room but she stood on the door, blocking the only way out.

"You're not going anywhere, honey." she said "King's order."

"I knew you're a crazy bitch." he said.

"Shut up, boy." she rolled her eyes "I'm here to help you."

"Help me?" he raised an eyebrow "Oh, come on!"

"Umm, as you want. It's better that you don't know something about Irina." she said coldly.

"Wait. What about Irina?" he looked at her.

"I thought you didn't want to know." she smiled "It's not important why do you feel something for her again, isn't it?"

"What are you talking about?" he got closer to her, looking deep into her eyes.

"Don't try to read my mind." she smiled, putting her hand on his face "I'll tell you; but I want something."

"Don't touch me." he moved away from her "There is nothing you can tell me that I can't read in her mind."

"True." she said "But when you don't know what you're looking for…and she doesn't think about it…"

"What do you want?" he asked coldly.

"I want you to do everything I want." she said "I want you to answer my questions."

He looked at her unsure what to do; it just seemed crazy.

"Come on. I don't bite." she laughed "I won't ask anything obscene."

"Fine." he finally said.

"Good." she smiled "I knew you'll make a right decision. Now, take off your shirt."

"What?" he stared at her in disbelief "No!"

"I just want to see your scar." she said "You don't want anything happen to Luna, right?"

"Don't you dare!" he said angrily "If you touch Luna…"

"You're talking too much." she said "I'm waiting…"

"Fine." he did what she wanted, hoping that this will be it because he didn't think he can stop himself from trying to hurt her.

"Beautiful." she ran her fingers across the scar.

"You're insane." he rolled his eyes and moved away from her.

"I'm not." she smiled "Don't you know how hot it looks?"

"Are you done?" he said nervously.

"Yeah. Now I want to ask you something." she said "Are you sure Eragon is your brother?"

"Why do you ask _me_ that?" he looked at her surprised "Ask Galbatorix."

"Because, my dear, I'm not sure he's 100 your brother." she said "I saw him. I talked to him and he's nothing like you."

"What are you trying to say?" he asked "Did he tell you something?"

"No. It's probably true that you have the same mother…it fits." she said "However, I don't think you have the same father."

"I don't care." he said.

"Oh, you do…but you don't want to admit it." she smiled "That's fine with me. But then his real father had to be a Rider too…so maybe you have an idea…"

"So what? What difference does it make?" he rolled his eyes "This is stupid. Are you going to tell me what you had to tell or not?"

"If that's what you want…" she said "Irina came to me one day. Do you remember seeing it in her mind?"

"Umm, yes…it was you!" he said accusingly.

"Yes, it was me." she said "But I didn't do anything she didn't ask me to."

"It was all blurry in Irina's mind. What the fuck did you do to her?" he asked.

"Irina came to me…she wanted a spell…love spell." she smiled.

"What?" he asked surprised.

"She wanted you to fell in love with her and she asked me for a spell. I gave it to her." Illeana said "She used it. Obviously."

"No, that's not true!" Murtagh yelled "It can't be."

"You can find the paper with the spell in her room. Right in the first drawer." Illeana said "And you can check her mind. Then you'll know I'm saying the truth."

"Fuck!" Murtagh ran out of the room. Illeana laughed after he left.

"This is so perfect!" she smiled and went to the throne room; she wanted to see what will happen and enjoy with Galbatorix their little play.

* * *

"Irina!" Murtagh yelled as he entered her room "How could you?"

"Hey, stop yelling! You'll wake Luna up!" Irina was upset "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with _me_? What's wrong with you?" he said, taking her arm and pulling her out on the terrace "I can't believe you!"

"What did I do?" she looked at him nervously.

"You used a spell on me!" he said angrily "Don't try to deny it!"

"A spell? Me?" she laughed "Do I look like a magician?"

"Irina, you went to Illeana and ask her for the spell!" he said "Don't think you can hide it. I can see it in your mind."

Irina looked at him confused for a second; suddenly she could remember something. Things that were blurry came out clear. She did say something and she did go to Ileana but it all seemed weird; like something was missing.

"Oh, I did?" she whispered and he went back into the room, finding the piece of paper with the spell and bringing it to her.

"See? This is it!" he gave her the paper. She stared at the paper confused; she didn't remember taking anything or seeing this before.

"What? You won't say anything?" he raised an eyebrow "You thought I'll never find out, didn't you?"

"But I…" she didn't know what to say.

"I don't want to see you again!" he yelled "You just…damn!"

He went into the room and she stayed there, looking at the sky until she heard a cry from inside. She immediately ran into the room and saw Murtagh holding Luna in his arms.

"What the fuck are you doing?" she yelled, trying to take Luna from him.

"I don't want her near you!" he said coldly "She's not your daughter anymore."

"What? You don't have any right to do this!" tears appeared in her eyes "She is my daughter and she's mine! You can't take her away from me!"

In that moment little green dragon woke up because Luna was crying loudly and Irina and Murtagh were shouting. They both looked surprised at the furious face of the dragon. He hiccupped fire and it almost got to Murtagh. The dragon got closer, looking dangerously.

"I think he wants you to leave Luna here." Irina said, afraid of the dragon.

"He's small, what can he do?" Murtagh said and looked at the dragon "I'll take you with Luna. Don't worry."

But the dragon jumped off the bed and bit Murtagh's arm. Murtagh put Luna down on the bed.

"Damn you little thing!" he yelled, healing the wound with magic "Fine. She can stay here for now."

Murtagh left the room furious. Irina looked at Luna who was crying and the dragon who got closer and tried to calm down the baby. She realized it's better to stay away from them both for some time; Luna will be just fine.

"I can't believe I loved him…again." Irina whispered to herself as the tears started to run down her cheeks "It's over. Forever."


	10. Darkness embraces who?

Galbatorix and Illeana couldn't stop laughing; they succeeded again.

"What now?" Illeana asked "Are we going to let Irina stay or not?"

"She's staying." said Galbatorix "We need good shows like this! Life wouldn't be fun without it!"

"Then you'll have to stop Murtagh from killing her." she laughed.

"Oh, that's easy." he smiled "But did you see that baby dragon? We have to have him on our side."

"He's already on our side." she said "I think he's keeping Luna here because he thinks it's safe."

"The problem is we don't know what he thinks!" he sighed "Maybe we should try to make Luna grow faster."

"But you know that wouldn't work. Her mind would be damaged." Illeana said "It's not like with dragons. Humans are complicated."

"I was actually hoping Luna will be special…but she's just a normal baby!" he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, we've already been through all possible ways…we can just wait." she said.

"Yeah, that's what I had in mind in the first place but I was hoping…" he said "Ah, never mind. We have nothing but time."

"What about Saphira?" she asked.

"Oh, with her it's already working." he smiled "We'll have dragon eggs soon."

* * *

Luna's third birthday was coming but in the castle nothing had changed. Irina was walking around the castle like a ghost, not speaking to anyone. Illeana was getting more and more nervous because Galbatorix didn't want to hear about making her a queen. Saphira gave 6 dragon eggs and it seemed like she didn't even know what's going on. Murtagh tried over and over again to take Luna away but the green dragon didn't let him near her; he's never got a chance to talk to her or see her. He didn't even know does she know he's her father. The castle and the Empire were never so close to complete destruction and chaos; people were without hope.

Murtagh was walking down the hall when he saw Irina holding Luna in her arms. He didn't know for how long he hasn't seen Luna; everyone tried to keep her away from him. He stopped in the middle of the hall, looking at them and Irina stopped too. They stood there for a moment, looking at each other and saying nothing.

"Mommy?" Luna pressed herself closer to Irina, looking with her big dark eyes at Murtagh.

"Shh, honey. It's alright." Irina whispered.

"Will you at least let her meet her father?" Murtagh looked at Irina.

"Stay away from us." Irina said coldly.

"Fine." he said "But only if that's what she wants."

"Mommy?" Luna was confused "Is he my daddy?"

"Yes, he is." Irina said, not letting go of Luna.

"Put me down!" Luna cried and Irina finally let go of her. Luna stood there for a moment, looking carefully at Murtagh.

"Are you afraid of me?" Murtagh didn't know what else to say; he didn't move either.

"No." Luna pressed her lips together, looking little bit angry.

"Come here then." he made a step forward and took Luna into his arms. Irina gasped and Luna got nervous at first but then she smiled.

"Are you a Dragon Rider?" Luna smiled.

"Yes, I am." Murtagh smiled too; he waited for this for too long. She was finally with him.

"Why Rubin won't bite me?" she looked at him with her big eyes, tears already forming.

"Rubin?" he was surprised.

"My dragon." she said "He won't tell me."

"You can talk to him? Does the king know?" Murtagh got upset.

"Put me down!" Luna started to scream and kick. Murtagh put the crying child on the ground and Irina immediately hugged her daughter.

"How dare you upset her like that?" Irina looked at Murtagh angrily while trying to calm Luna down.

"I didn't mean to…but it's important!" Murtagh said and looked at Luna "Luna, please, tell me."

"The king knows." Irina smiled bitterly "He was more in her mind than anyone else."

"What?" Murtagh was furious "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Don't yell in front of your child!" Irina said coldly "That's why we're keeping her away from you. You just react too fast."

"Irina, we can't let the king…" he tried to explain.

"Stop it! _We_ don't exist! It's just you and me...separately. I know what is the best for my daughter." she said "Stay away from us. I was trying to spare you all this…"

"So, she's safer with Galbatorix than with me…is that what you're trying to say?" he raised an eyebrow "When I tried to get her away from you, you were pleading and crying and all…and you said it wasn't fair…now I say it isn't fair! She's my daughter!"

"You wanted to get her away from me no matter what." Irina said.

"I'm sorry. I was wrong." he looked at her "You have the right to be with her; I have that right too."

"Ask the king." Irina said coldly "I don't have anything to do with it."

"Irina, since when do you work or agree with the king?" he rolled his eyes "Just drop the act and tell me the truth."

"You are potential danger to my daughter and that's why you'll stay away." she actually smiled while Luna held her dress.

"No, you can't think that." he laughed "Don't be afraid of the king. He's not listening to us right now."

"So? Do you think I decided this because of him?" Irina picked up Luna into her arms.

"Irina, come on!" Murtagh grabbed her arm but she moved away, taking Luna with her.

"You're just like your father." she said coldly before leaving him alone in the dark hall. He just looked after her in shock; this must have been Galbatorix's work.

* * *

Illeana ran straight to the throne room; she was sick of it all. She decided to ask Galbatorix for the last time will he make her a queen or not. It meant now or never because she realized that he didn't care at all.

"I have to talk to you." she looked at Galbatorix, her eyes shining dangerously.

"What is it, my love?" he said in a sweet voice.

"Don't pretend like you don't know!" she yelled "Make me your queen today or tell me you never meant to do it!"

"Don't be such a party breaker." Galbatorix laughed but she didn't relax.

"Is that a no?" she asked coldly, her whole body shaking.

"Of course." he laughed "And what did you think?"

"You son of a bitch!" yelled Illeana and closed her eyes, whispering something. Galbatorix looked her carefully for a moment, still calm.

"Oh, please. You can't kill me." he smiled.

"I spent enough time with you to know what to do to destroy you forever." Illeana said through her teeth while concentrating hard on the spell.

"Sure, but you can't destroy me without…" he looked at her.

"I know." she said coldly "And I don't give a damn."

She finished the spell in the moment Galbatorix tried to react. It was the only spell of black magic she wasn't supposed to know. But of course she was investigating all the time and found the spell. However, Galbatorix never thought she will use it since there is no chance for her to survive it. He was wrong; her anger was beyond anything. Everything what she wanted was to destroy him and make him pay for what he has done to her all these years. She wanted to make him pay for all lies and all unfulfilled promises.

"So it ends here…" she laughed as the big cloud of black filled the room, breaking everything and burning it like a fire. It seemed like an eruption of volcano for a second but then it turned out to be more like a cold storm. In a second there was nothing left of Illeana and Galbatorix but ashes.

* * *

The ground was shaking and the stone walls of the castle threatened to fall down any moment. Irina immediately took Luna into her arms and hurried to the way out. Murtagh was near them and he grabbed Irina's arm to help her get out faster. One part of the castle was completely destroyed when they got out.

"Dragons!" Murtagh suddenly remembered while taking Luna and Irina away from the danger.

"It's them, right?" Irina asked, pointing at sky. They could only see dark spots above all the smoke and dirt that rose from the ruins.

"Yes, it's them." Murtagh said, relieved. Dragons landed near them, waiting for everything to calm down. No one was sure what exactly happened.

"Is the king dead?" asked Irina after some moments.

"I don't know." Murtagh looked at Shruikan who was standing with others.

"_He is. I'm free._" Shruikan said.

"And Illeana?" asked Irina, finally letting Luna go to hug her dragon.

"They're both dead." Murtagh said, not believing his words.

"Is it over?" Irina whispered, tears forming in her eyes "Are we free?"

"Yes." he smiled a bit "It's all over."

"Oh!" Irina was so happy that she hugged Murtagh and cried "If this is a dream, please don't wake me up!"

"It's not a dream." Murtagh whispered.

"Mommy?" Luna was looking at them.

"What is it, honey?" Irina asked, looking at her daughter's worried face.

"Who is that?" Luna pointed at the shadow near the ruins. Everyone looked at that direction.

"Eragon." Murtagh said coldly, taking his sword in his hand "He survived."

"What are you going to do?" Irina panicked when she saw determined look on Murtagh's face.

"Something I should have done long time ago." he said and slowly walked closer to Eragon who didn't seem to be moving from his spot.

"Daddy?" called Luna and Murtagh turned around a bit to look at her.

"What?" he asked.

"Don't go. Stay with me!" Luna said quietly.

"I'll be back. Don't worry." said Murtagh, looking from time to time at Eragon "Irina, take her away."

"No!" cried Luna.

"You can't do that in front of you daughter!" Irina was upset.

"Damn it, Irina! Take her away from here!" he yelled and his eyes shined dangerously.

"Fine." Irina took Luna into her arms and carried her away, looking angrily at Murtagh for a second "I hope you…"

He just looked at her and went at Eragon.

* * *

"I hate him." whispered Luna while they were all hiding far away from the ruins of the castle and possible fight.

"No, you don't, honey." Irina smiled "It's not hate what you feel."

"No?" Luna was confused "But Rubin said…"

"Rubin said?" Irina rolled her eyes "Dragon said! How amazing! Dragon is my daughter's teacher."

"I love Rubin!" Luna smiled "I love you! But not him! He's mean!"

"Sweetie, you're too young to understand…" Irina realized this will be hard to explain why is Murtagh acting like that. And she didn't really have intention to tell the truth about Galbatorix and what she did. She hoped she'll never have to tell to Luna why she was born and what kind of promises were made.

"'m not!" Luna protested "Rubin says…"

"Not again!" Irina smiled "Ignore Rubin, please."

"Okay. I'm ig…what?" Luna got confused again.

"Never mind, honey. But today is a happy day!" Irina smiled.

"Why?" Luna looked surprised.

"The king is dead…we won't see him again." Irina said "You'll never have to learn words of ancient language again!"

"Why?" Luna asked, upset "…keep Rubin?"

"Rubin stays with you…unfortunately." sighed Irina.

* * *

Luna was already sleeping in Irina's arms when Murtagh reached their shelter. Irina stared at him in shock. His face was expressionless and the sword in his hand was covered with blood.

"What happened?" Irina whispered.

"We're free." Murtagh suddenly smiled "There is no one who can do anything against us."

"Huh." Irina immediately ran out of the shelter and realized all dragons are still there.

"You're wrong." Murtagh said behind her back. She turned around to look at him, trembling.

"But…" Irina didn't know what to say "I…"

"I killed him." Murtagh said "Saphira is alive and she'll stay alive because he died while she was still apart from him. For her it's like he never…We'll control her with magic, together with Shruikan."

"I can't believe you…" she couldn't finish the sentence.

"I know. But it was the only way." there was a hint of grief in his voice.

"What now?" she asked.

"I'm the new king…I have to get this Empire back…new, better Empire where everyone will be happy. What do you think?" he was obviously having trouble keeping his face expressionless.

"What do I think?" she took a deep breath "Well, I'm not leaving Luna…and you…um, you know."

"We'll build a new castle…try again…for our daughter." he sighed.

"Sure. But if you ever try to…if you ever…hurt her…I swear, I'll kill you…" Irina said, even she knew she'll never have the power to confront him.

"Why are you thinking like that about me?" he got upset "I'm sick of it! I'm sick of people thinking I'm like my father!"

"You just killed…" Irina whispered.

"I did! But not because of what you think!" he said desperately "Illeana poisoned him so much that there…there was nothing else to do. I admit I was mad at first…but I would never…I couldn't have."

"Oh." Irina said "But it will take time…"

"Don't worry about that." Murtagh got closer to her, touching gently her face "Take Luna and I'll go to the dragons. From now on…we rule!"

"Fine. You take care of the dragons." Irina smiled "Just, please, build separate place for them…"

"Sure." he laughed "But we'll ask Luna first…!"

The end

* * *

**Author's note: **Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it. Like my other stories, this story was longer than I expected but oh, well.

**Disclaimer: **In case you don't know, I do not own any of Christopher Paolini's characters, but I do own all other characters like Irina, Luna, Illeana, Rubin…


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